Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2006-11-15 00:59
<And above all...keep it s-i-m-p-l-e. >
Amen to that!
There is an adage in the medical profession (taught to medical students everywhere): when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras.
Of course, it *could* be zebras, but the first thing to do is look for the horses.
In my case, I figured that the dissatisfaction I was experiencing about my legato was likely to be something pretty basic (i.e., a horse, not a zebra). Trying the techniques supplied by Damon (d-oboe) and Eliza (hautbois), I have been able to diagnose the problem: whenever I needed to leap into a succeeding tone, I was tending to short the preceeding tone.
Worse yet, the tones that I was shorting were the downbeats of their respective bars. And since this is essentially a song, that is where the word-emphasis would fall (o COME o come e- MAN - u - el, etc.). By giving those most-significant beats short-shrift, I created a very unmusical effect and left myself nothing to "hang" the rest of the bar on, and the line (or the illusion of line) fell apart. But by making sure that I treat the first note of each bar with the respect it is due, I have largely solved my problem.
It sounds much better now. Thanks! This Board is a great master class!
Susan
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